Second Chances
by Alidiabin
Summary: Ducky gets a second chance with Jordan Hampton. Ducky/Jordan Hampton


**Title: **Second Chances**  
>Fandom: <strong>NCIS**  
>Author: <strong>Alidiabin**  
>Words: <strong>1,410**  
>Disclaimer: <strong>I own nothing**  
>WarningsSpoilers/Rating: ** 9x06 | PG**  
>Parings:<strong> Ducky/Jordan Hampton  
><strong>Summary: <strong>The website introduced him to a crazy and a second chance. Fluff.

_**Second Chances**_

Jordan Hampton looked at the website, it had been sent to her as a link in an email from one of her medical school friends Karen. Like many of Jordan's friends she saw it as her duty to set her up with dates. Jordan was not lonely; she rather liked living alone with only a lazy cat and easy going plant as her responsibilities. The horror stories of her friends disastrous second (and sometimes third) marriages filled with custody disputes and bratty step children were enough to scare off anyone. She had never wanted children so she did not grieve for an unused womb or cry when her monthly blood ceased. She was rather content with her life. Happy.

Still, perhaps out of boredom or a subconscious desire for a date, for someone to share the nights with, she logged on to the website. It was a website for doctors to meet and date. The term doctor was all encompassing; Jordan scanned profiles for PhDs and MD's. Women's profiles outnumbered men's but all the profiles had the same desperateness on them. All of the dates in her age group seemed scared of dying alone.

She got three pages into the search. She had used wide parameters; a doctor, male, over forty but under eighty and in her area. She thought about refining the search until she spied a familiar face in the profile picture.

Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard.

Jordan stopped. Donny as she had affectionately called him had been the one that got away. She had helped him when he injured her hand but he had never called. She had wondered about him for a while but then forgotten about him. When she saw his mother obituary in the paper she considered calling him but never did.

She clicked on the profile. She smiled at it. Ducky had written about himself in a modest but verbose way. He had mentioned his work at NCIS and asked that potential dates not be put off by the fact he was a doctor to the dead rather than the living. As a fellow in the same profession Jordan could not help but chuckle to herself in her empty apartment. He had also mentioned his wide and varied interests from history to biology to impressionistic art to opera.

Jordan looked at his views and comments; he was quite popular with the over forty women. He even had a few comments from men. _Casanova Senior_, Jordan thought in her head. She debated whether to send him a quick hello, like a girl with a crush on the popular kid, she wondered if he even remembered her, if he even cared. In the end she made a mental compromise.

_Fancy, meeting you here_. She wrote in his comments section.

She thought it to be flirty but not like a stalker. She told herself not to hold her breath for a reply but she did just that.

XXX

Ducky did not go near the website after what happened with Mary Courtney. He resigned himself to live out the rest of his days in Bachelordom, though the idea was not terrible, he had wanted someone to share his last quarter with.

He sighed as more notification emails appeared in his inbox. He had found himself to be quite popular. He suspected it more to be because he was one of the few males in his age bracket. He quickly scanned through the notifications. One caught his eye.

_Jordan_Hampton69 has written on your wall_

Ducky stopped. Jordan Hampton. He remembered the other medical examiner well. She had helped him both professionally and personally when he had been stabbed. He could never quite recall why he had never called her. Maybe, it was feelings of inadequacy after all he was nearly twenty years older than her. Maybe, he wanted to leave behind everything that was related to getting stabbed. All Ducky knew in hindsight, was it had been stupid. He wondered if she believed in second chances.

He logged back onto the website. He found the wall post from over a week ago. He wondered if he still had her phone number or if he could find her email address. He needed a friend. He wanted one that had not been involved in the case.

It took twenty minutes of internet searching before he found a professional email address. He clicked on the link. He found himself facing a blank email box. The usually verbose man, always with something to say, was stumped.

It took another hour before he composed the email.

_Dear Jordan, _

_It was lovely to see you on DoctorDate, I am deleting my account due to some unfortunate issues with another member. However, I do not wish to loose contact with you again. I deeply regret not getting in contact with you earlier. _

_Donald_.

As he pressed send he could not help but think how unromantic it was. He would not be surprised if she chose not to reply.

XXX

As the email was sent to a professional email address; Jordan did not get until the following Monday. She came back to work after a scarce weekend off to find six dead bodies and a full inbox.

She finally got to the emails in the late afternoon. She noticed Donald Mallard in the list of senders. Despite seeing important professional emails she jumped to his one. She read his email. She debated whether she should reply instantly but stopped herself knowing it would come off as too eager, too desperate.

So she replied bright and early Tuesday morning, deciding to ditch the rules of dating to daytime television and badly written self-help books. She liked the Ducky she had met three years ago and wanted to meet the Ducky that had sent her the emails. So she replied.

_So you got some of the crazies too, _

_Call me_.

She left her phone number at the end of the email.

XXX

Ducky got the email and deciding to grab life by the horns he called her.

"This is Doctor Jordan Hampton; I can't get to the phone right now. Please leave a message," her voicemail reported. Ducky remembered she was often knee deep in bodies and bodily tissue that she could not answer the phone. _Or she could be avoiding you_ a nagging voice in his head told him.

"Mr Palmer," Ducky called out, enquiring where his assistant was.

"Yes, doctor," Mr Palmer responded as he looked up from a medical textbook.

"It is quiet today," Ducky reported, "And I have something to do. Do you think you could hold the fort?"

"Yes, doctor," the eager assistant chirped, "What is this something you have to do, doctor?" The young assistant prayed the elderly doctor was not in need of a doctor himself.

"Do not fret, Mr Palmer," Ducky replied with a smile, "It is a matter of the heart."

"Don't get heartburn doctor," Palmer replied as Ducky skipped out of autopsy.

XXX

Jordan was inspecting the body of a victim of suspect gang shooting when somebody invaded her usually quiet lab. She suspected the intrusion was by the detective working on the gang shooting case.

"O'Connell I may be good but I am not that good," Jordan declared while her back was too the door.

"I assure you are that good," A familiar Scottish voice uttered. Jordan dropped the scalpel she was using. She slowly turned around, unsure if it was really Donny standing there.

"Donny," Jordan uttered as she found herself facing the Scotsman.

"A while ago, I realised, that I had let too many things pass me by. So I grabbed at things, but they were the wrong things. When I got your email, I realised let you pass me by. Maybe, it was fate that we found each other again. I was not going to let you pass me by again," Ducky blubbered.

Jordan stood still, taking in all of his words. She had never been the type of woman to believe in love and fate. She scoffed at romantic comedies and fairy-tale endings. But her heart melted.

"And I am so silly," Ducky continued, "I looked for something that was already right in front of me. I do hope you believe in second chances."

Jordan stepped forward whilst Ducky was still talking. She placed her finger on his lips shutting him up. Then she leaned forward to kiss his him. She gave him his answer without words.

**A/N**: I cannot believe how fluffy this is.


End file.
